Pediatrics: The Nightly Crybabies

Evening is often a time of trial for new
parents. It brings the dreaded hour when their otherwise happy infant
starts screaming its tiny head off. Grandma, of course, knows just what
is wrong: the baby has colic. But neither Grandma nor the doctor knows
the cause of the trouble. And after years of searching, reports the
British Medical Journal, the mystery remains.

Generations of medical men, says the B.M.J., have suggested just about
every possible explanation. The baby has been underfed or overfed. The
formula was too hot, too cold, too frequent, too infrequent, too weak,
too strong, or...